CFN College Football Rankings No. 1 To 128 After Week 13

The CFN After Week 13 Rankings. Based on head-to-head as well as talent, here’s the latest ranking of all 128 teams.

College Football News Rankings

This week, everything that’s happened so far gets thrown out and it all starts from scratch, sort of like the College Football Playoff people do it. However, this week it’s more about the eye-test and opinion, but with schedules and head-to-head added into the equation. Next week after the regular season is over, the annual CFN Season Rankings will come out where it’s all about the cruel and heartless what-did-you-really-do analysis.

128. Fresno State (1-11)

The Bulldogs finished the year as the only FBS team that not only finished with just one win, but didn’t beat a fellow FBS team. While the Bulldogs were far more competitive late in the year – losing to Hawaii and San Jose State by a total of three points – it was an utter disaster of a year. Jeff Tedford has a lot of work to do.

127. Buffalo (2-10)

126. Texas State (2-9)

125. Massachusetts (2-10)

124. UTEP (4-8)

123. Kent State (3-9)

122. New Mexico State (3-8)

121. Rice (3-9)

120. San Jose State (4-8)

119. Georgia Southern (4-7)

118. Ball State (4-8)

117. Georgia State (3-8)

116. South Alabama (5-6)

115. ULM (4-7)

114. Louisiana-Lafayette (5-6)

113. Florida Atlantic (3-9)

112. Bowling Green (4-8)

111. Marshall (3-9)

110. FIU (4-8)

109. Charlotte (4-8)

108. Tulane (4-8)

107. Utah State (3-9)

106. North Texas (5-7)

105. UTSA (6-6)

104. Kansas (2-10)

103. Connecticut (3-9)

102. Akron (5-7)

101. Idaho (7-4)

100. Hawaii (6-7)

99. East Carolina (3-9)

98. Central Michigan (6-6)

97. Cincinnati (4-8)

96. Northern Illinois (5-7)

95. Eastern Michigan (7-5)

94. Miami University (6-6)

93. UNLV (4-8)

92. Ohio (8-4)

91. Rutgers (2-10)

90. SMU (5-7)

89. Arizona State (5-7)

88. Virginia (2-10)

87. Purdue (3-9)

86. Nevada (5-7)

85. Arkansas State (6-5)

84. Michigan State (3-9)

The Spartans are more talented than this, they’re better than this, and they should be higher than this – but they can’t be. Yeah, they almost beat Ohio State – and probably should’ve – and they pushed Michigan, but they also lost to Illinois, Maryland, and got blown out by Penn State after a good first half. Yeah, you are what your record is.

83. Illinois (3-9)

82. Southern Miss (6-6)

81. Colorado State (7-5)

80. Syracuse (4-8)

79. Army (6-5)

78. Troy (9-2)

77. Middle Tennessee (8-4)

76. Arizona (3-9)

75. Iowa State (3-9)

74. Maryland (6-6)

73. New Mexico (8-4)

72. Notre Dame (4-8)

This dog just wouldn’t hunt. It was good enough to beat Miami and be in a position to beat Texas, Michigan State, Duke, NC State, Stanford, Navy and Virginia Tech, but if the team was that good, it would’ve won those games. The Fighting Irish should probably be lower than this considering the early losses to Texas and Michigan State.

71. UCLA (4-8)

70. Appalachian State (9-3)

69. Oregon (4-8)

68. Duke (4-8)

67. Boise State (10-2)

66. Air Force (9-3)

65. Wyoming (8-4)

64. Oregon State (4-8)

63. San Diego State (9-3)

62. Baylor (6-5)

61. Texas Tech (5-7)

60. Wake Forest (6-6)

59. UCF (6-6)

58. Boston College (6-6)

57. Old Dominion (9-3)

56. Missouri (4-8)

55. Toledo (9-3)

54. Tulsa (9-3)

53. Ole Miss (5-7)

52. Indiana (6-6)

51. Mississippi State (5-7)

50. BYU (8-4)

49. Louisiana Tech (8-4)

48. Texas (5-7)

How much of a thud was the end of the season? Texas was 5-4 with two home games and Kansas to deal with, and it whiffed on all three. Five of the seven losses were by a touchdown or less, but that’s sort of the point. Charlie Strong’s team was good enough to be far better, and it couldn’t get it done in tight games against bad teams like Kansas and Cal.

47. California (5-7)

46. TCU (6-5)

45. South Carolina (6-6)

44. Western Kentucky (9-3)

43. Northwestern (6-6)

42. Georgia (7-5)

41. Vanderbilt (6-6)

40. Houston (9-3)

39. Kentucky (7-5)

38. Memphis (8-4)

37. NC State (6-6)

36. Arkansas (7-5)

35. Tennessee (8-4)

34. Western Michigan (12-0)

12-0 is 12-0 is 12-0, and if it was so easy, everyone would to it. But the Broncos’ big win came at Northwestern to start the year, and it took a minor miracle for that to happen. The team might be flawless, but it’s flawless in the MAC with just four wins this year over teams going bowling.

33. Texas A&M (8-4)

32. Stanford (9-3)

31. South Florida (10-2)

30. Temple (9-3)

29. Washington State (8-4)

28. Georgia Tech (8-4)

27. Pitt (8-4)

26. Miami (8-4)

CollegeFootballNews.com Top 25 After Week 13

25. North Carolina (8-4)

Yeah, fine, they blew it against Duke and didn’t show up until it was too late against NC State, but this has still been one of the best offensive teams throughout the season in several important games. It just hasn’t been able to stop the run.

24. Minnesota (8-4)

The Golden Gophers were really, really close to doing something amazing, but that was the style. They were just good enough to hang around with the big boys, but just mediocre enough to struggle against the average. Three of the losses to Penn State, Iowa and Nebraska were by seven points or fewer – they flat gagged the Penn State game – and the melted down late against a better Wisconsin.

23. Nebraska (9-3)

Injuries kicked in late in the year, with Tommy Armstrong never quite right over the second half. They might not have any amazing wins – or any – but they battled Wisconsin on the road in overtime and got by Minnesota in a fight. However, they were obliterated by Iowa and Ohio State by a combined score of 102-13.

22. Navy (9-2)

It got lost in the glitz and glamour of Houston, but the Midshipmen put together a whale of a season winning the West highlighted by thrillers over Tulsa and the Cougars. They got better as the year went on, scoring 42 points or more in seven of the last eight games, cranking up 66 on East Carolina and 75 against SMU to close out the regular season.

21. Kansas State (7-4)

The Wildcats are missing the amazing win, but they’ve been fine all season long, even in the losses. This is a rock-solid team that has won four of its last five games, only losing in a fight against Oklahoma State along the way. Beat TCU, and this will be the fourth-best team in the Big 12.

20. Louisville (9-3)

There are two ways to look at this. On the one hand, the team has totally melted down with no defense whatsoever in the last two losses to Houston and Kentucky. On the other, this is still the team that battled so hard against Clemson and blew away Florida State. That might have been ten years ago, but at least there are four wins against bowl-bound teams – even if two of them are Boston College and Wake Forest.

19. Utah (8-4)

The Utes lost three of their last four, and while all were tight battles – all three were by seven points or fewer – there was an inexcusable home gaffe to Oregon thrown into the equation. Add the loss to Cal, and the win over USC, and this has been a very, very puzzling season. Here’s the biggest problem – the wins over USC and BYU were the only two against bowl bound teams.

18. Virginia Tech (9-3)

At least the Hokies are in a position to do something amazing. It would’ve been nice to have beaten Georgia Tech to get have an outside shot of getting into the College Football Playoff with a win over Clemson in the ACC Championship, but settling for the Orange Bowl with a win in Orlando would have to do.

17. West Virginia (9-2)

Great record, no beef. The Mountaineers lost the two games they had to pull off – Oklahoma State and Oklahoma – and the wins over BYU and Kansas State seem far too long ago. The team’s been good enough be No. 3 in the Big 12 pecking order, but it’s still going to feel a bit disappointing.

16. Iowa (8-4)

Yeah, the Hawkeyes lost to North Dakota State. Yeah, they were annihilated by Penn State and were the only ones in the Big Ten who struggled against Rutgers. But they also tagged Michigan and closed out with a blowout over Nebraska to finish winning three straight.

15. Oklahoma State (9-2)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Central Michigan thing will always be a part of the equation, but the Cowboys lost to Baylor, too. They’re red hot on a seven-game winning streak, and while they’re out of the College Football Playoff chase – at least realistically – beating Oklahoma and going to the Sugar Bowl would make for a very, very successful season.

14. LSU (7-4)

The four losses are still pretty good – Wisconsin, Auburn, Alabama and Florida – and they can point to roughly one play in each game that could’ve turned things the other way. That’s how it works in the SEC, of course, but under Ed Orgeron, the team came back to live. The breathtaking performances against Arkansas and Texas A&M showed what the team could really do.

13. Florida (8-3)

Okay, okay, the Gators came up with one massive offensive play against LSU, and that’s been about it for the second half of the season. The defense got Florida to the SEC title game, and now it’s got a puncher’s chance to throw the season into a tizzy if the D can play like it did against LSU. By the way, they’ve beaten six teams that’ll end up going bowling.

12. Auburn (8-4)

This obviously turned into a different team after the first few weeks, with wins over LSU, Mississippi State, Arkansas and Vanderbilt looking stronger now. Chalk up the Georgia loss to injuries, and chalk up the Alabama loss to it being against Alabama. Overall, the resume is solid. If Florida gets destroyed by the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship, the Tigers have a shot at the Sugar.

11. Colorado (10-2)

Here’s the problem – where’s the great win? Beating Utah is okay, and getting by Stanford on the road and beating Washington State is nice, but main claim to fame is losing at Michigan and USC. That all changes, obviously, with a Pac-12 championship over Washington.

10. Florida State (9-3)

Everyone still seems to have that Louisville game baked in to the mindset, but that was on September 17th. Since then, the Noles lost to North Carolina in the final seconds on a bomb of a kick, and lost 37-34 to Clemson. Now they’re on a roll winning four straight and six of the last seven games with victories over Miami and NC State on the road and a 31-13 destruction – at least defensively – of Florida.

9. Oklahoma (9-2)

Just how much can you really look past that season-opening loss to Houston? The Ohio State loss is more than acceptable and the eight-game winning streak has changed the narrative, but if you don’t think the Big 12 is any good, then what the Sooners are doing is no big whoop. Even so, scoring 45 points or more in four of the last five games is awfully good.

8. USC (9-3)

One of the hottest teams in college football, the Trojans have reeled off eight straight with wins over Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Notre Dame in a fantastic November, no matter how bad some of those teams are. Now they need Colorado to get blown out by the Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship to have a shot at the Rose Bowl.

7. Penn State (10-2)

This is a far, far different team than the one that lost to Pitt – who beat Clemson, by the way – back on September 10th. This is also a far, far different team than the one that gone obliterated by Michigan. On an eight-game winning streak, they’ve scored 39 or more in their last six games – mostly in the second half. Oh yeah, and they have the best win in college football this season over Ohio State.

6. Wisconsin (10-2)

If you want to put Penn State ahead of the Badgers because of that win over the Buckeyes, okay. No argument. They keep on marching along with a suffocating defense that’s been hit with a few big pass plays over the last few weeks, but the formula continues to work. Still, Bucky is getting the love because of the close losses to Ohio State and Michigan, more than the wins.

5. Washington (11-1)

Does beating Washington State and Utah quality as anything special? The Huskies only have four wins over bowl-bound teams, and one of those is against Idaho. Optics and margin of victory will matter in Santa Clara – they’ve got to beat Colorado convincingly to push aside the Ohio State argument. The home loss over USC might have been by double-digits, but it’s hardly an awful defeat at this point.

4. Clemson (11-1)

The Tigers could be No. 2 if you believe that they’re hitting their stride after that loss to Pitt – at least offensively – but they’ve still been just a bit too shaky overall. The Louisville win doesn’t matter as much now, but still, beating Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Florida State still matter. If they beat Virginia Tech, Alabama – most likely – will be the only other team with ten wins over bowl-bound teams.

3. Michigan (10-2)

No, you don’t punish the Wolverines for losing an all-timer of a double-overtime classic in Columbus. They might have blown it with three key turnovers, but they also came inches away from getting out with a win and spot in the Big Ten Championship. Resume-wise, if Colorado wins the Pac-12 title, Michigan will have beaten two Power 5 champions.

2. Ohio State (11-1)

Yes, the Buckeyes have the best resume in college football with wins over Oklahoma and Wisconsin on the road, a blowout over Nebraska, and a win over the CFP No. 3 team. HOWEVER, they came within a two-point conversion of possibly losing to a bad Michigan State team, an inch away from losing to Michigan, and … they lost to Penn State.

1. Alabama (12-0)

No matter how you might want to try and knock anything Alabama has done – the SEC sucks this year, Ole Miss and Arkansas showed off a few vulnerabilities, Auburn wasn’t 100% – whatever. The Crimson Tide are the only Power 5 unbeaten team with only one game – Ole Miss – within double digits. If they beat Florida, they’ll have beaten a ridiculous ten teams that are going bowling, and that doesn’t even count Ole Miss.